Planting apparatus



W. J. MELVIN, JR

PLANTING APPARATUS A May 2, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. ,l2, 1946 y 1950 w. J. MELVIN, JR 2,506,430

PLANTING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 12, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 W. J. MELVIN, JR

PLANTING APPARATUS May 2, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 12, 1946 Patented May 2, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PLANTING APPARATUS William J. Melvin, Jr., Tar Heel, N. 0.

Application September 12, 1946, Serial N 0. 696,481

3 Claims.

This invention relates, in general, to an improved planting apparatus and. deals, more particularly, with improvements in a planting machine adapted to be attached to standard tractors and similar farming vehicles for use in the transplanting of young plants such as tobacco plants, and the like.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a planting accessory designed for operation with practically any form of tractor already in use as a machine for setting and watering young plants in a procedure, which comprises, in general, the opening of a furrow for receiving a row of plants, supplying a quantity of water at spaced locations in the furrow Where the plants are set, and filling in the furrow and pressing the earth about the newly placed plants.

Another object of the invention is to provide a planting attachment of this character embodying an improved and simplified construction for supplying water automatically in the furrow at predetermined spaced locations where the plants are deposited, and further, with ready provision for easily changing the spacing of such locations where the water is supplied to the furrow as may be necessary or desirable in accordance with the size and type of plants to be set.

A further object of the invention is to provide a planting attachment of the type described which is strong and durable, easily operated and of relatively simple construction that may be manufactured at comparatively low cost.

Further objects and advantages and other new and useful features in the construction, arrangement and general combination of parts of the invention will be readily apparent as the following description proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings, for purposes of illustration but not of limitation, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the same, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, showing the improved planting attachment of the invention in operative connection with the rear of the chassis of a tractor or similar farming vehicle;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the improved planting attachment;

Fig. 3 is a close-up, side elevational view of the furrow opener and valve and actuating mechanism for supplying water automatically to the furrow at spaced locations:

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of Fig. 3 illustrating the construction providing for ad.-

2 justment or change of the setting of the water supplying mechanism; and,

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 55 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now, more particularly, to the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2 are side and plan views, respectively, of the improved planting machine designed for operation with a standard tractor which is shown in part in the drawings, for purposes of illustration, as comprising the rear tractor wheels I, wheel hub housings l provided with peripheral flanges 5, a drive gear accessory 6, and side frame members carrying a transverse tow bar 8. A pair of main bars Iii, ll extend generally longitudinally of the machine to define a central beam serving as the supporting means for the operating mechanism of the invention. The forward ends of said bars Ii), H, are bent outwardly to define a yoke cornprising arms l3, 14, connected to a cross bar in any suitable manner. A relatively simple connection is shown provided by pairs of threaded studs i6 welded to the edges at the end of each bar In, H, in projecting relation thereto to receive the cross bar 15. Clamping plates ll secured by nuts is threaded on the studs it hold the cross bar 15 connected to the bars ill, H, and capable of slight pivotal movement as may be necessary or desirable.

The ends of the cross bar l5 are welded, bolted or otherwise secured between the ends of vertical brackets comprising angle bars 2a, which are so arranged that the angular sides of the bars fit over the forward corners of the flanges 5 around the hub housings 4 of each of the rear wheels i of a standard tractor. Such housing flanges 5 are conventional on all modern tractors and are provided with threaded openings for receiving bolts to detachably connect cultivators and various other farming equipment to be drawn by the tractor, as desired. Accordingly, it is a simple matter to attach the vertical brackets 26 to the housing flanges 5 by bolts 25 and such connection is firm and rigid by reason of the abutting engagement of the sides of the angle bars with the adjacent corners of the housing flanges 5, as aforesaid.

As best seen in Fig. 1, longitudinal side rails 30 are bolted as at 3i or otherwise secured to the lower ends of the vertical brackets 23 in genorally parallel relation to the beam bars it, it, and these rails carry seats 32 on either side of the machine for one or two workers who set the plants into a furrow as the machine is drawn by the tractor. These seats may be of any dew sired type designed to be mounted upon the rear free ends of the side rails 39 in any suitable way. In the present illustration, the seats 32 are of a simple construction provided by a sheet of metal bent to form a back rest 33, a base 39 welded or otherwise secured to the rails 99, and leg rests 35 defined by bifurcated extensions straddling a side rail 39 and secured thereto. These side rails carrying the seats 52 are also supported in generally parallel and spaced relation to the ground by rear vertical brackets comprising angle bars 51 which are bolted as at 55, Fig. 2, or otherwise secured to said side rails 39 and attached to the rear of the housing flanges by one or more bolts 39.

The rearward ends of the beam bars I9, II, are bent intermediately in outward relation to each other to define a generally V-shaped fork comprising arms 49, ii. The arms of the fork are twisted to provide end portions 92, 53, in outwardly diverging relation and these end portions have suitable openings to receive spindles 44, 45, for rotatably mounting a pair of cooperating packing rollers 95, All, in outwardly inclined relation. These rollers support the beam bars I9, I I, above the ground and are disposed in outwardly inclined relation in order to move the earth from a furrow back into the furrow in the most effective manner in completing the planting operation. The bars I9, Ii, otherwise are united by spaced bolts 59, 5|, 52 and 53 to pro.- vide a strong, unitary central beam and these bolts have additional functions, as presently to be described.

The bolt 59 secures in the space between the bars I9, II, the forward end of an elongated plate-like member 99, which comprises a pair of diverging blades iii, 92, Fig. 2, defining a plow shoe for opening a furrow. Such a furrow opener is provided in a relatively simple construction by an outwardly bent end portion on the plate 69 defining blade 5i, while a similar blade 62 is joined thereto by welding as at 93, Figs. 1 and 3, or by any other suitable means. A post 55 secured between the bars I9, II, by bolt 52 and connected to the furrow opener as by one or more bolts 56, Figs. 1 and 3, supports the same in operative position.

Between the bolts 59, 5i, Figs. 2 and 4, a generally U-shaped shaft support I9 is mounted in adjustable relation longitudinally of the beam bars I9, ll. As seen in Fig. 5, the U-shaped shaft support 19 comprises a pair of legs II, I2, provided with aligned openings I3, I4 providing spaced bearings for a transverse shaft I5. Said legs II, I2 straddle the bar II with the inner leg I2 received in the space between the beam bars I9, I I, and clamped by the bolts 59, 5| in any selected position of adjustment longitudinally of said bars.

A rotatable trip wheel 89 is keyed to the adjacent end of the shaft I5 and is provided with projecting trip pins BI having an equal spacing on said wheel around the axis thereof. A changeable sprocket or gear Wheel 95 is removably attached to the opposite end of said shaft and is connected by a sprocket chain 95 to the drive gear 6 extending from the wheel hub housing 4 of the tractor. The drive gear 6 is conventional equipment provided on the inner side of the wheel hub housing 4 of a tractor as a driving means for various types of farming equipment which may be used with the tractor. It is, therefore, a relatively simple matter to connect the sprocket chain 86 to the drive gear 9 for driving the sprocket wheel which in turn rotates the shaft I5 and trip wheel 89 mounted thereon. Although not shown, any appropriate conventional chain tightener may be employed to take up slack in chain 89 as a result of slight pivotal movement of the beam bars I9, I l.

A water valve comprising a cylinder or casing 99 is mounted in the bight of the V-shaped fork defined by the outwardly bent arm portions 49, 4|, of the beam bars l9, II. The valve, Fig. 3, includes a water outlet port 9| and an inlet port 92. A ball valve 94 on an axially reciprocable rod 95 normally closes the outlet port 9i under influence of a contractile coil spring 96 telescoped over the rod 95 and bearing against the cap of the cylinder to exert a constant pressure on the ball valve 94 to hold the same in closed relation to said outlet port 9|. The reciprocable valve rod 95 is slidably mounted through the watertight top of the valve casing 99 and the outer free end thereof is hinged by a pintle 9? to a crank lever 98. The valve cylinder thus provided may be secured in mounted position on the beam bars II), II, in any suitable way, and in the present example, a simple construction is shown comprising an integral apertured ear or projection 93 provided on the casing 99 in position to fit between the central bars l9, II and be secured by bolt 53 to hold said valve casing 99 in mounted position.

The lever 98 is pivotally mounted at I99 on the same post 95 which is secured by bolts 52 to the bars I9, I I and which supports the furrow opener 59 at the lower end thereof by the bolts 69. The lever 98 may be of any suitable design and preferably is twisted to define a fiat, slightly arcuate cam finger portion 99 on its free end which extends into the path of the trip pins 8| on the v rotating wheel 89 so as to be engaged by said pins in succession to actuate the water valve periodically.

Water to the valve casing 99 is supplied through the inlet port 92 by a hose I95 connected to a tank I96 carried by a shelf I9'I mounted on the tractor frame members I in any suitable way. A relatively simple arrangement of this character is shown in Fig. 1 wherein the shelf I9! rests on the tow bar 8 and is bolted at I98 to the flanges 5 on the wheel hub housings 4. If desired, the tank I95 may be mounted on supports gadrried by the beam bars I9, I l, and/or side rails Accordingly, as the trip wheel 89 rotates, the pins 8| each in turn is adapted to engage the cam finger 99 and thereby actuate the lever 98 for a short period during which the lever is caused to move about its pivot I99 to the position represented in dotted lines, and in so doing, lifts the valve rod 95, which compresses the coil spring 96, and raises the ball valve 99 from the outlet port 9| to permit a quantity of water to fiow into the furrow. As a trip pin SI moves out of engagement with the lever 98, the lever, which is connected to the valve rod 95 by pintle 97, is caused to return to its initial position under force of the coil spring 95 on said valve rod 95 and this movement also causes the ball valve 94 to return to the normal position thereof closing the outlet port 9|. The lever 98 is thereby returned automatically to its initial position in which the cam finger 99 thereon is disposed in the path of the next succeeding trip pin 8I. As each trip pin 8| in turn moves into and out of engagement with the lever 98, a similar action takes place to open the valve and permit a flow of water into the furrow at predetermined spaced locations.

In operation, it will be understood that with the planting machine attached to a tractor in the manner described, one or two workers who place the plants in the f-urrow are seated in the seats '32. As the planting machine is drawn by the tractor, a furrow is opened by the plow shoe 60 and the earth spread apart by the diverging blades BI, 62 thereof. The drive gear 6 actuates the sprocket chain 86 to drive gear 85 which rotates the shaft 15 and the trip wheel 80 carried thereby. As the trip Wheel 80 rotates, the trip pins 8| thereon successively engage the cam finger 99 on the lever 98 to move the same as represented by the dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 3, thus actuating the water valve 90 to permit a quantity of water to flow into the furrow at predetermined spaced locations. At each location where water is supplied, a plant is set by a worker, or by one of two workers setting plants alternately. The workers sit within easy reaching distance of the location where the water flows into the furrow from the valve 90, and, of course, when the plants are individually set by hand in this manner, they are necessarily planted properly and at correct depth and alignment in the furrow in the most effective manner. After the plants are set, the packing rollers 46, 41 come into position to move the earth back into the the furrow and compress the earth around the newly placed the locations in which water is supplied to the furrow. The type and size of the plants, of course, determine the required spacing thereof and accordingly, the machine is designed to be adjusted to supply water at locations having a greater spacing for larger plants, or less spacing for smaller plants. This is readily accomplished simply by substituting for the changeable sprocket wheel or gear 85, a smaller gear when the space between plants is to be reduced, or a larger gear when the spacing is to be increased. A larger gear 85 reduces the speed of rotation of the trip wheel 80 to cause a less frequent operation of the water valve thereby providing an increased spacing between locations where water is supplied to the furrow. Conversely, a smaller gear 85 effects a more rapid rotation of the trip wheel 80 to cause the water valve to be actuated at more frequent intervals and thereby reducing the spacing between locations where water is supplied into the furrow. In the substitution of gears for this purpose, any necessary slack or take-up in the sprocket chain 86 is readily compensated for through changing the position of the shaft 15 by adjusting the shaft support 10 as necessary. This is accomplished simply by loosening the bolts 50, 5|, adjusting the shaft support 10 longitudinally of the beam bars I0, I I, as necessary for the sprocket chain 853 to fit properly over the sprocket wheel 85 and drive gear 6, and then tightening said bolts 50, 5|, to clamp the shaft Support 10 between the bars l0, H, in adjusted operating position.

While the invention has been described in detail with a specific example, such example is intended as an illustration only, since it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other modifications in the construction, arrangement and general combination of parts may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, with all changes falling within the scope, meaning and range of equivalency of the claims intended to be embraced therein.

A divisional application Serial Number 154,257 filed April 6, 1950, is directed to the overall frame and seat structure of the apparatus disclosed herein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

1. Planting apparatus adapted to be drawn by a vehicle comprising a beam extending longitudinally of the apparatus, a furrow opener carried by said beam, a water valve mounted on said beam having a lever for actuating the valve to supply water into a furrow formed by said furrow opener, a shaft support secured on said beam and adjustable longitudinally thereof, a transverse shaft journaled in said shaft support, a, trip wheel secured to said shaft and rotatable thereby, trip elements on said wheel adapted to engage said lever on the water valve, and means for rotating said shaft comprising drive means powered by said vehicle.

2. Planting apparatus adapted to be drawn by a vehicle comprising a pair of spaced bars defining a beam extending longitudinally of the apparatus, a furrow opener carried by said beam bars, a water valve mounted between said bars having a lever for actuating the valve to supply water into a furrow formed by said furrow opener, a shaft support secured between said bars and adjustable longitudinally thereof, a transverse shaft journaled in said shaft support, a trip wheel secured to said shaft and rotatable thereby, trip elements on said wheel adapted to engage said lever on the water valve, a gear on said shaft for rotating the same, and drive means powered by said vehicle for driving said gear, said shaft being adjustable through said adjustable shaft support to permit various sizes of gears to be employed on said shaft in connection with said drive means.

3. Planting apparatus adapted to be drawn by a vehicle comprising a pair of spaced bars defining a beam extending longitudinally of the apparatus and having arm portions in diverging relation defining a fork, earth engaging means connected to each of said diverging arm portions of the beam bars and supporting said bars above the ground, a furrow opener carried by said beam bars, a water valve mounted in the fork between said diverging arm portions of the beam bars having a lever for actuating the valve to supply water into a furrow formed by said furrow opener, a shaft support comprising spaced bearings secured between said spaced beam bars and adjustable longitudinally thereof, a transverse shaft journaled in said spaced bearings, a trip wheel secured to said shaft and rotatable thereby, trip elements on said wheel adapted to engage said lever on the water valve, a changeable gear on said shaft for rotating the same, a sprocket chain connecting said gear to drive means powered by said vehicle, said shaft being adjustable through said adjustable shaft support to permit various sizes of gears to be employed on said shaft to rotate the same at any selected speed.

WILLIAM J. MELVIN, JR.

(References on following page) REFERENCES CITED Number The following references are of record in the 523,300 file of this patent: UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 1,073,302 Number Name Date 1,486,512 520,477 Bemis May 29, 394 1,807,474 520,478 Bemis May 29, 1894 1,886,457

Name Date Unger July 31, 1894 Scognamillo et a1. Oct. 16, 1894 Moehring July 10, 1900 Owens Sept. 23, 1913 Boon Mar. 11, 1924 England May 26, 1931 Winkley -1. Nov. 8, 1932 

